Weiner's Shame Deficit

After 10 days of playing the victim of computer hacking, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-New York) admitted Monday that he lied about sending lewd photos of himself to women he met online. He said that he is “deeply ashamed” and “accepts responsibility for his “actions,” but will not resign from Congress, claiming that he “didn’t violate any laws or congressional rules.”

Instead of urging Weiner to resign, as several other Democrats have done, Minority House Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former Queen of Clean Swamps, referred the matter to the House Ethics Committee to determine “whether Weiner misused government resources or broke any congressional rules.”

It should be easy, given Weiner’s admissions, to prove that his conduct violates the Code of Ethics for Government Service and House Ethics, which require, among other things, that any person in government service should:

• Adhere to the highest moral principles.

Weiner has admitted lying about his conduct.

Weiner admitted sending explicit photos of himself to six women via Twitter, Facebook, email, and by telephone and engaged in sexually explicit communications with women he had met online.

After a close-up, nude photo of male genitals was posted online Wednesday, Weiner’s office issued a statement admitting that Weiner “had sent sexually explicit photos of himself,” according to the A.P.

• Give a full day‘s labor for a full day's pay.

“Speaking exclusively to RadarOnline.com, [Lisa] Weiss said she shared 220 messages with Rep. Weiner beginning on August 13, last year — and they were often exchanged during work hours. In an explicit exchange on March 3 -- the same day he voted on a health care bill in the U.S. House of Representatives -- Weiner bemoaned that he had to end their conversation because he was ‘off to class.’”

Jan LaRue is Senior Legal Analyst with the American Civil Rights Union; former Chief Counsel at Concerned for Women; Legal Studies Director at Family Research Council; and Senior Counsel for the National Law Center for Children and Families.
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